Northwestern Water and Sewer District celebrated 20 years of operation in Wood County with a party and open house on May 4. The party included tours, food, a fishing derby and live tweeting from a bucket truck. According to its website, NWWSD was chartered in 1994 to take over the water and sewer operations of the Wood County Sanitary Engineer. Agency goals are to establish a uniform water distribution and wastewater collection system, create uniform and equitable rates, provide uniform services, and institute consistent regulatory authority for its services.

The “big screen” at the NWWSD is the Water and Sewer Warning and Control Center. It provides situational awareness for dispatch personnel in the Operations Department, and it is a command center when there is an emergency event such as a large water leak or substantial flooding after a major rain event. The screens are normally set to show water and sewer telemetry systems, GIS mapping application, and real-time vehicle tracking system. The screens are configurable and can also bring up the security cameras at remote sites or pretty much any other piece of software or website that may be needed in an emergency.